This regulation aims at carrying out and monitoring a comprehensive and coordinated collection of data on the changing situation in the economic and monetary field.

ACT

Council Regulation (EC) No 2533/98 of 23 November 1998 concerning the collection of statistical information by the European Central Bank [Official Journal L 318 of 27.11.1998] [See amending acts].

SUMMARY

The European Central Bank (ECB) has the right to collect statistical information within the limits of the reference reporting population and of what is necessary to carry out the tasks of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB).

The reference reporting population comprises:

legal and natural persons residing in a Member State and falling within the sector of “financial institutions” (as defined in the European System of National and Regional Accounts (ESA) 1995);

post office giro institutions;

legal and natural persons residing in a Member State insofar as they hold cross-border positions or have carried out cross-border transactions;

legal and natural persons residing in a Member State insofar as they have issued securities or electronic money;

legal and natural persons residing in a participating * Member State who hold financial positions vis-à-vis residents from other participating Member States or who have carried out financial transactions with residents from other participating Member States.

The ECB must specify the actual reporting population, using existing statistics as far as possible and exempting specific classes of reporting agents.

Member States are responsible for their own tasks in the collection of statistics and are required to cooperate fully with the ESCB.

The ECB has regulatory power with regard to the definition and imposition of its statistical reporting requirements on the reporting agents *.

If a reporting agent residing in a participating Member State is suspected of an infringement of the statistical reporting requirements to the ECB, the ECB has the right to verify the accuracy and quality of the statistical information and to carry out its compulsory collection. It has the right to:

require submission of documents;

examine the books and records of the reporting agents;

take copies or extracts from such books and records; and

obtain written or oral explanations.

The ECB or the competent national central bank must notify the reporting agent in writing of its decision to verify statistical information or to collect it compulsorily. Data will be collected in accordance with national procedures. When a reporting agent opposes the verification process, the participating Member State in which the reporting agent's premises are located must give the necessary assistance, including ensuring access to the reporting agent's premises by the ECB or the national central bank.

Reporting agents resident in a participating Member State who fail to comply with their statistical reporting requirements may be subject to the following sanctions by the ECB:

if no statistical information is received by the ECB or national central bank by the established deadline, a daily penalty payment not exceeding EUR 10 000, with the total fine not exceeding EUR 100 000;

if the statistical information is incorrect, incomplete or in a form not complying with the requirements, a fine not exceeding EUR 200 000;

if a reporting agent obstructs the tasks of the ECB or national central bank by preventing physical access to his premises, a fine not exceeding EUR 200 000.

The statistical information is considered confidential when it allows reporting agents and any other legal person, natural person, entity or branch to be identified, either directly from their name or address or from an officially allocated identification code, or indirectly through deduction.

Reporting agents must be informed of the statistical and other administrative uses to which statistical information provided by them may be put. They can obtain information on the legal basis for transmission and on the adopted protection measures

The ESCB must use confidential statistical information exclusively for carrying out the ESCB’s tasks ESCB except:

if the reporting agent or the other legal person, natural person, entity or branch which can be identified has explicitly given its consent to the use of the statistical information for other purposes;

for their transmission to other ESS members;

for granting scientific research bodies access to confidential statistical information which does not allow direct identification and with the previous explicit consent of the authority which provided the information;

for the use of information by the national central banks in the field of prudential supervision or for the exercise of functions in accordance with the Statutes of the ESCB and the ECB.

The ECB and the national central banks must take all the necessary regulatory, administrative, technical and organisational measures to ensure the protection of confidential statistical information. Member States must take all the necessary measures to ensure confidentiality, including the imposition of enforcement measures and appropriate sanctions in the event of an infringement.

Key terms of the act

Participating Member State: an EU Member State which has adopted the single currency and is part of the euro zone;

Reporting agents: legal and natural persons and the entities referred to in Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 2533/98, which are subject to the ECB's statistical reporting requirements.

Regulation (EC) No 25/2009 of the European Central Bank of 19 December 2008 concerning the balance sheet of the monetary financial institutions sector (Recast) (ECB/2008/32).

Regulation (EC) No 24/2009 of the European Central Bank of 19 December 2008 concerning statistics on the assets and liabilities of financial vehicle corporations engaged in securitisation transactions (ECB/2008/30).

Regulation (EC) No 1053/2008 of the European Central Bank of 23 October 2008 on temporary changes to the rules relating to eligibility of collateral (ECB/2008/11).

Regulation (EC) No 958/2007 of the European Central Bank of 27 July 2007 concerning statistics on the assets and liabilities of investment funds (ECB/2007/8).

Regulation (EC) No 63/2002 of the European Central Bank of 20 December 2001 concerning statistics on interest rates applied by monetary financial institutions to deposits and loans vis-à-vis households and non-financial corporations (ECB/2001/18).

Regulation (EC) No 2819/98 of the European Central Bank of 1 December 1998 concerning the consolidated balance sheet of the monetary financial institutions sector (ECB/1998/16).

Introduction of the euro

Regulation (EC) No 1348/2007 of the European Central Bank of 9 November 2007 concerning transitional provisions for the application of minimum reserves by the European Central Bank following the introduction of the euro in Cyprus and Malta (ECB/2007/11).

Regulation (EC) No 1637/2006 of the European Central Bank of 2 November 2006 concerning transitional provisions for the application of minimum reserves by the European Central Bank following the introduction of the euro in Slovenia (ECB/2006/15).

Regulation (EC) No 2548/2000 of the European Central Bank of 2 November 2000 concerning transitional provisions for the application of minimum reserves by the European Central Bank following the introduction of the euro in Greece (ECB/2000/11).

Minimum reserves

Regulation (EC) No 1745/2003 of the European Central Bank of 12 September 2003 on the application of minimum reserves (ECB/2003/9).111

European Central Bank Regulation (EC) No 2157/1999 of 23 September 1999 on the powers of the European Central Bank to impose sanctions (ECB/1999/4).